Destroyer @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 4/22/08

Eight records in, Dan Bejar, a.k.a. Destroyer, needs no fanfare or introduction. To his established group of fans, the Vancouver-based musician--whose critical accolades include membership in The New Pornographers as well as plenty of solid solo music--is a laid-back master of pop songs that are theatrical in arrangement, not presentation.

This may be why in his live show, Bejar wanders out on stage with his bandmates like they're all going to rehearsal, checking his guitar levels and setup casually while the crowd hoots in anticipation. Destroyer isn't putting on a show as much as playing some music, in a venue that happens to be full of an adoring audience.

With his big curly hair and two-day scruff, Bejar looks and moves like a sleep-deprived adolescent slacker. He starts the set with "Blue Flower/Blue Flames," the same track that begins his new album "Trouble in Dreams," strumming a simple chord structure almost alone while the rest of the quintet adds spare bits and pieces--an effected, bending guitar line and piano riff entering and exiting before the song itself trails off.

As the list of songs continues, it becomes apparent that the songwriter is concentrating largely on new material. Canadian navel gazer "The State," with its Pavement-like guitar lines and swinging beat, is rolled out next to the warm, organ-and-bass driven single "Foam Hands." "Leopard of Honor" with its slow beginnings, rocking crescendo and fade out, is exemplary of Destroyer's live style. The set overall is a sort of slow crescendo, starting quiet and slowly building in volume and sound.

While the group of musicians on stage around Bejar may be exactly that, their contributions to the live show are essential. Nicolas Bragg's lead guitar lines, whether dripping with sweetness or bristling with noise, are expressive and appropriate. It's a shame the band doesn't have a real upright piano on stage--"Trouble in Dreams" benefits from the sound of real ivory--but Ted Bois fills in his parts on electric keyboard with skill and restraint.

Tim Loewen and Fisher Rose comprise a solid rhythm section on bass and drums, and Rose, who amusingly sports a cut-off shirt and wears a ring of bells around his bare bicep, is a stoic foundation for the band's varied arrangements. The tall drummer's beats trudge and gallop through the Destroyer's songs from a large and simple kit that looks like something John Bonham would covet, with simple and powerful beats the legend also might appreciate.

Anyone who knows Bejar is aware of his bizarre lyrics, whose meanings are often obscured on first listen, and it's a good thing that in the live setting they aren't overpowered by the other instruments--a nice surprise for a rock show. The singer's unique voice, which has been compared to that of David Bowie, seems to vacillate between under and out of its owner's control--but again, for his fans that's part of Bejar's charm.

A special surprise at a recent performance was the band's performance of "Naomi's First Sunrise," an apparent new song that was particularly enjoyable. Bragg's sliding guitar line, made possible by the obscure electronic device called an Ebow, built the tune, along with Bejar's lyrics ("You've been wasted from the day/wandering and scheming and sleeping outside/ and now the light holds a terrible secret").

The band offered up one acknowledgement of the audience beforehand, though.
"This is the first time we've played this song live," said Bois, grinning, who seemed to be the band's spokesperson during the live show. "But it will seem like we've played it 200 times, because we're (expletive) professionals."

It was a nice bit humor from a band whose music is undeniably theatrical, and whose indie-loving fan base could arguably be docked points for snobbery and elitism by and outsider. Honed by Bejar and his cohorts over the last several years, the music itself has reached a point of subtle excellence, not mind-blowing in concert, but sinking in several hours after the show is over, and reminding you that Destroyer is a band still making small adjustments that should woo a larger number of listeners than it already does.